BICENTENNIAL ALLIANCE

The Bicentennial Alliance is a coalition of statewide non-profit organizations and government agencies working together to develop and promote statewide projects commemorating the Missouri Bicentennial. Current members include Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, Missouri Arts Council, Missouri Council for History Education, Missouri Folk Arts Program, Missouri Historical Society, Missouri Humanities Council, Missouri Prairie Foundation, Missouri State Archives, Missouri State Fair, Missouri State Library, The State Historical Society of Missouri, and the University of Missouri Office of Extension and Engagement.

BICENTENNIAL PENNY DRIVE

The Bicentennial Penny Drive is a fundraiser scheduled to take place in Missouri public elementary and intermediate schools beginning in February of 2018. The goal of the penny drive is to raise funding for the conservation of founding state documents in honor of the approaching bicentennial of Missouri Statehood. To learn more, contact Claire Bruntrager, Missouri Humanities Council associate director, at claire@mohumanities.org or 314.781.9660.

FOUR YEARS TO STATEHOOD

Missouri Council for History Education and Missouri Humanities Council have partnered to create lesson plans to aid teachers in educating students about the state’s struggle for admission into the Union. The lessons introduce students to four young people who lived in Missouri during the years 1818 to 1821: a boy in French Ste. Genevieve, an Osage girl near Arrow Rock, a slave in Pike County and his descendants, and the daughter of Missouri's first Attorney General. Each unit has a short narrative and then a variety of activities to involve students in learning about the history of Missouri and the town and county in which they live. The units are designed for third through fifth grade but can easily be used in middle and high school. They will be posted on the Missouri Council for History Education website in Fall 2018 for free teacher download, and workshops will be presented around the state to discuss their classroom use. To learn more, contact Gary McKiddy, president of Missouri Council for History Education, at gmckiddy2@gmail.com or Claire Bruntrager, Missouri Humanities Council associate director, at claire@mohumanities.org or 314.781.9660.

THE MISSOURI CRISIS AT 200

Two hundred years later, you can watch the Missouri statehood process unfold. The Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri and Missouri Humanities Council are "live-tweeting" Missouri's struggle for statehood, and the nation’s struggle with that. Follow the project here.

STRUGGLE FOR STATEHOOD, 1818-1821: A TRAVELING EXHIBIT

A traveling exhibit chronicling the three years that the controversy over Missouri’s admission into the Union was fiercely debated, Struggle for Statehood reexamines the lasting significance of the conflict on a local and national scale. The exhibit will lead visitors through the story of Missouri’s admission with accessible educational content, including historical accounts and stories of people that this controversy touched. It will have a high quality graphic design and interactive kiosks. The traveling exhibit will go on display beginning in December 2018 and travel to different counties until December 2021. Additionally, every site will receive funding and planning assistance for public programs around the Struggle for Statehood. Potential programming includes speaking events with scholars and writers, education performances for children and schools, and commemorative events all aimed to provide a local aspect and highlight local issues related to crisis. To learn more, contact Claire Bruntrager, associate director, at claire@mohumanities.org or 314.781.9660.